A Coach’s Dismay Keeps the Doctor Away

Will RG3 play in the preseason? Should he? It's a dilemma that might not have mattered had the QB and his coach relied on the opinion of the man paid to know best

Having grown up a diehard Washington fan in DC, I am well aware of the galvanizing effect the team has always had. Washingtonians don’t agree on much, but they love their football team.

Now there is a player that singularly ratchets up that popularity and impact on the region. Robert Griffin III, known simply as RG3, has become the face of the franchise, with scintillating play on the field and a refreshing presence off it. All was bliss in the nation’s capitol during Griffin’s spectacular rookie season. Until, that is, a serious knee injury that could have been avoided knocked the region from cloud nine.

Griffin sprained his LCL ligament in a late-season game against the Ravens and sat out one game, returning to lead the team into the playoffs on a clearly weakened leg. In the playoff game, a wild-card round contest against the Seahawks on a perilous turf at FedEx Field, Griffin aggravated the previous knee injury, yet was allowed to continue to play in a compromised state. He didn’t come out, and he tore his ACL.

Griffin has now declared himself healthy enough to return by the opening game. But not just that, he wants to play in the preseason. Mike Shanahan wisely will not allow that, though he seems to acquiesce about Griffin playing opening night. But it might not be his call, anyway; owner Dan Snyder told ESPN that team doctor James Andrews would make that decision. If true, that’s huge progress for the team.

The issue of when Griffin returns shines the spotlight on, to me, the biggest question about the team after Griffin’s return: has the return-to-play protocol for Griffin been resolved to remove Griffin and Shanahan from decision-making, deferring to Dr. Andrews to make those calls?

“Scared the hell out of me”

Seven months after the ACL injury, the narrative about Griffin’s returning to play is still puzzling. Let’s look at the three parties involved.

Griffin wanted to keep playing, saying, “There was no way I was coming out of that game.” Of course Griffin wanted to play; that is what players do. He’s not thinking about long-term damage to his knee; he’s thinking about the next play, the next series.

Shanahan relied on Griffin’s assurances, saying, “That was enough for me.” He was a coach in the heat of a playoff game; like Griffin he was not thinking about the long-term.

Dr. Andrews, the person who should have made the decision, was removed from the equation. In a similar situation earlier against the Ravens, Andrews said “Coach Shanahan looks at me like, ‘Is he OK?’ and I give him the ‘Hi’ sign as in, ‘He’s running around, so I guess he’s OK.’ But I didn’t get to check him out until after the game. Scared the hell out of me.” Hmm.

As with the Ravens game, it appears that the immediate interests of the player and coach were prioritized over deferring to Andrews’ expertise.

Empowering the doctor

Robert Griffin III has been relegated to light work so far in training camp. (Steve Helber/AP)

In 25 years of being around professional athletes, I have learned that the biggest medical risks to players are players themselves. It is up to others, especially the team’s medical staff, to protect players from themselves. In order to do so, the doctor must be empowered—independent from the coach’s immediate needs and the player’s desires.

Andrews, a doctor with as flush a resume as any in sports medicine, was powerless on Griffin at the most crucial time. Were Andrews given final authority that day, Griffin likely would have not gone back in the game and suffered serious injury, as Andrews’ cryptic comments suggest.

Cutler crucified for right call

Jay Cutler, after suffering what turned out to be a Grade II MCL tear against the Packers in the NFC Championship Game in 2011, was removed from the game and shown on the sidelines with what appeared to be a benign injury. Cutler was torched on social media for not “toughing it out” in the NFC Championship.

Yet in Cutler’s case, the Bears simply had an empowered doctor. As Bears’ coach Lovie Smith described very simply in the post-game news conference: Cutler didn’t take himself out of the game, the doctor said he couldn’t go, so he was done. End of story.

Cutler was roasted for having a team doctor protect his long-term interests; Griffin was hailed for overruling the team doctor and putting himself at greater risk. The bottom line is this: the decision of whether Griffin or Cutler or any player should continue to play has to be taken out of the player’s hands. It was with Cutler, it wasn’t with Griffin.

Isn’t this where we have finally come to in the NFL regarding concussions? Why should it not be the same for orthopedic injuries? Sure, we all want to watch the star players play, but a team doctor has to make these decisions free from influence with a player’s long-term interest in mind. Otherwise, why is he even there?

In 2012 alone, Griffin returned a week after a concussion, two weeks after a significant knee injury, and a few plays after aggravating that same knee. He is now set to return eight months after a torn ACL, a decision that, as Snyder has suggested, is rightly being made by Dr. Andrews, not Griffin or Shanahan.

Beyond the decision for Griffin’s return, we hope all further return-to-play decisions—no matter the heat of the moment and the assurances of Griffin—are made by an empowered doctor, not an eager player or coach.

Brandt says that Dr. Andrews was "powerless". But the doctor's testimony is: “Coach Shanahan looks at me like, ‘Is he OK?’ and I give him the ‘Hi’
sign as in, ‘He’s running around, so I guess he’s OK.’ But I didn’t get
to check him out until after the game. Scared the hell out of me.”

That does not sound like the doctor was powerless. The doctor gave the "Hi" sign when asked for his opinion. He should have said that he could not give an opinion without examining his patient. How was Shanahan to know that the Hi sign meant "I guess so. But I don't really know. I am scared to let him play."?

It seems from the doctor's own testimony that Shanahan would have pulled RGIII if the doctor had told him to.

@neumanco1 What,REDSKINS is the team name. What do call the teams in K.C(Chiefs),NBA(Warriors),and MLB(Indians)? I'm sorry,but the elders of the indian tribes had no problems with these names when asked yrs ago,so if your culture says respect your elders and their choices are you really following your culture? No!! So this the name Washington Redskins.

@eddie767@neumanco1 I represented the White Mountain Apache Tribe (AZ) and did some work with the National Indian Gaming Associate...and belieive me, they take it be derogatory, if not insulting. As for the other names, they are mild and somewhat positive, though the grinning big toothed Cleveland logo is horrible.

@neumanco1@eddie767 I represent a bevy of Redskins fans that don't take the teams name as being derogatory.. Had a big court case when jack Kent Cooke was owner that dragged through the courts for eight years .Redskins WON in court ...That should be the end of it but too many people never let anything die ....Will this Redskin name thing have to go to the Supreme Court to be settled .....Chill out, will ya ....Cleveland Indians ? .. I was never offended by that name either ...

But yet he continues to throw the team under the bus for his own popularity. Just few weeks ago he said he'd play but then says he'll follow coaches orders. This guy is the biggest circus, the most self centered *&^%, over the Jets and Cam, in the NFL. And we thought lebron fit that bill for most selfish, egotistical person in sports.

@WHO*IS*ESPN I'm curious...where exactly are you getting the character reference for RG3? You sound like a petulant child, you're probably a Cowboy fan. I'm not even a Redskins (anyone who continues the racial slur talk needs to pull their head out of their rear) fan. The guy is all class, his popularity only ELEVATES the team you idiot.

@Bucs*Life@WHO*IS*ESPN So WHERE is the racial slur in my comment? Another race baiter prick like you who can't understand rg3 thinks, says, and tweets it is all about HIM. And NO, I'm not a Cowboy fan. So fk off

@WHO*IS*ESPN@Bucs*Life Learn to read sport. I said ANYONE not you. It was a blanket statement since there were other comments here about not using it. Clearly you don't understand context, it's no wonder you misread RG3's tweets and thoughts. For someone who evidently doesn't like the guy, you sure try to prove your moronic comments by only giving evidence which would suggest you follow him. Might want to go see a shrink.

How exactly am I a "race baiter?" How exactly is everything RG3 does for himself? Don't make the statement if you can't back it up with specifics. People like you give fans a bad name.

@Bucs*Life@WHO*IS*ESPN Here we go again, you god damn racist knuckle head. If I told you I had a coke, you would call me a racist. You socialist Obamanites are a royal pain....Zero racisism in the original opst...STFU moron......

@WHO*IS*ESPNIn my latest column "Ten Things I Think" (which I can't get Peter to publish! lol) #4 says... "I think RG3 needs to study more film. Specifically, he needs to look at how Brady and Manning handle their comments to the media". If RG3 doesn't put a stop to his free flow of thoughts to the media, and instead learn to give vanilla answers, he is not going to lead his team to greatness. I also think that we better be prepared for more QB's like him. The last 20 years has seen a rise in the importance of the QB relative to the rest of the team (a direct result of the rule changes that make passing the most important part of the game... anyone remember "running the ball and defense win championships"?). That rise in importance means that a QB superstar can challenge his coach publicly and get away with it, just like in the NBA. Yuck.

If RG3 has proven anything in his short time with the Redskins, it's that he's a terrible judge of his own fitness. The Redskins should allow their team doctor to weigh in on decisions about whether he, or any other player, is fit to be on the field. I'm not usually a fan of Shanahan, but he's the Redskins' coach, and Griffin (and the other Redskins players) should shut up about Shanahan's pre-season decisions. Also, the knee-jerk PC-ism about not saying the Redskins' name is boring.